4 Key Attributes Of God That Explain The Christian View On Suffering In The World
Posted on: 31 March 2021
Life is difficult for everyone at times, even Christians. Sometimes in life, bad things happen. People lose their jobs or become sick. Worldwide catastrophes occur, and people wonder why a loving God would allow these things. Understanding more about God can help people understand the reason He allows suffering in the world. Here are four key attributes of God that can explain the Christian view on suffering in the world:
1. God is ineffable.
God is all-knowing and all-powerful. He created the world and everything it contains. A being so powerful is hard to comprehend, which gives Christians some insight into God's nature. The Bible says that God's ways are higher than the ways of humanity. His thoughts are inscrutable to mankind because they're so much vaster. God can see all the pieces of the puzzle, while people cannot. Christians believe that suffering may be part of God's plan and that bad things happen for a reason. It's important to trust God at all times, even when He seems to be doing things you don't understand.
2. God has a plan.
God is in control, and He has a plan. He tells mankind about this plan in the Bible, a plan to redeem the world through His Son, Jesus. In the end, God will conquer sin and death for all time. However, people don't know the specifics of God's plan or the timing He plans to use. Christians are only instructed to trust and obey God in everything. Suffering may be part of God's plan, and God's plans are always good since He is the embodiment of good.
3. God is love.
The Bible says that not only does God love His creation, God is love. God loves everything He made, but He loves mankind most of all. Understanding this is the key to understanding how God feels about His children. Like any good father, God doesn't delight in His children's pain. When people suffer, God feels grief at their suffering. Knowing that God is moved to compassion by the plight of humanity can make suffering easier to bear. It also lets Christians know that God desires good things for all of mankind.
4. God gives people choices.
When God created people, he gave them the ability to choose their own actions. This is called free will. Since people have free will, they can do what they want, even when those decisions may hurt themselves or others. Christians believe that much of the suffering in the world is caused by sin, the result of people using their free will to make decisions that defy God.
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